Tips on memorizing 20 amino acids

This is for those biochem students who are, like myself, struggling to memorize the structures of 20 main amino acids that are essential for human. These are simplified models along with memorizing tips at the end of this blog.

 Alanine - Ala - A

Arginine - Arg - R

Asparagine - Asn - N

Aspartic acid - Asp - D

Cysteine - Cys - C

Glutamic acid - Glu - E

Glutamine - Gln - Q

Glycine - Gly - G

Histidine - His - H

Isoleucine - Ile - I

Leucine - Leu - L

Lysine - Lys - K

Methionine - Met - M

Phenylalanine - Phe - F

Proline - Pro - P

Serine - Ser - S

Threonine - Thr - T

Tryptophan - Trp - W

Tyrosine - Tyr - Y

Valine - Val - V

• Worth noticing that Asn (N) & Gln (Q) ; Asp (D) & Glu (E) are similar in structure.
• Tyr (Y) is  Phe (F) with -OH 
• 9 essential amino acids have this color

You could also use my flashcards to study. I find this very useful for a long term memory.

Nutritional Info:

• Lys (K) & Trp (W) are poorly represented in most plant proteins, therefore vegetarians need to find alternatives in soy beans, peanuts, nuts and seeds.  

• Cys (C) can partially replace Met (M) (both contain S)

• Tyr (Y) can partially replace Phe (F)

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